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A Country Christmas: G45 Winter Wonderland December Daily and Embellishment Tutorial

Hello, G45’ers! If you’re like me, you haven’t had the chance to document your holiday memories yet. This Graphic 45 Winter Wonderland December Daily is such a great way to store all those precious photos and cherished memories. I’m happy to finally be able to share it with you.

To make memory keeping simple, I broke the album down into 4 weekly sections. This seems less daunting to me than a daily entry. It’s such a great place to record my play dates with the Littles, special family times and even favorite recipes, I can just pop a photo into the appropriate week, jot down a quick note and be done.

As an additional motivation for this project, it’s my turn to play along in the G45 Craft Basket Challenge. This month, we were asked to create a project with a Staples Mixed Media Album (I chose Ivory) a 12×12 paper collection (I chose Winter Wonderland) and Staples Washi Tape. I have some fun features built into the pages. You’ll learn all about them in the YouTube Video tour below.

You will also find a lot of really cute embellishments made with Winter Wonderland Chipboard and Stickers. There’s a YouTube video tutorial for those, and I think you’ll have lots of fun making them.

Winter Wonderland December Daily: The Cover

Fussy cut flowers, simple paper layers, and a die cut ornament adorn the cover of this 8.25″ x 8.75″ x 2″ album. Each layer is matted with gold and black to keep the designs from becoming muddled.

I could not resist adding this little bottle brush tree to the cover decor. Here’s how I did it:

First, use Glossy Accents to secure the Staples Antique Metal Door Pull to the bottom right hand corner of the cover art. Note that it is upside down.

Now cut again using the green stripe paper in 12×12 Patterns and Solids. Glue together.

Create a washi tape belly band.

Then top with the chipboard element.

Now tie gold string around the top and add small chipboard tag, jingle bells, berries and ribbon.

Tie ribbon around the spine and decorate with large jingle bells and a mini tree ornament. The back cover is decorated with 12×12 Patterns and Solids and a washi tape border.

Winter Wonderland December Daily: A Peek Inside

You’ll find a slash pocket filled with Staples Black Standard Tags and a cheery holiday banner inside the album

Use the tags to decorate cookie plates, Christmas gifts or as fun photo mounts.

This waterfall feature is a great place for all your candid holiday photos. Sew two vellum sheets together on 3 sides to create a large pocket. Then cut the heavy kraft cardstock pages to fit inside. These pages can be used for large (5″ x 7″) photos or even recipes.

The tabbed pocket pages are so quick and easy to decorate. I’ve filled them with 4″ x 6″ images from the cut apart page. I’ve also added decorated Staples Black Square Tags because they make fabulous photo mounts. Create a hinge to attach an ATC sized Policy Envelope and tuck another square tag behind it. This way, you can use the entire page for photos or recipes.

Photo wallets are so much fun to add to pockets, and they make a great place to tuck in a gift card or tickets to a special show.

This Square Black Tag is tucked behind the open side of a 4″ x 6″ photo mount. Interactive elements always make an album more fun!

You’ll find all the details and lots of tips and tricks in this YouTube Video Tour.

Winter Wonderland December Daily YouTube Video Tour

Winter Wonderland December Daily: Making the Chipboard and Sticker Embellishments

As you saw in the video, the final pocket in this Winter Wonderland December Daily holds a festive banner made with Staples Red Alpha Tags. This goes together in about 15 minutes. Here’s how:

First, mat each tag on gold metallic paper and trim around the edges.

Next, re-punch the hole at the top of each tag.

Then thread black and white ribbon through the top.

Now tie a square knot with another piece of the same ribbon.

Next, hot glue a flower to the center knot.

Then, make the chipboard and sticker embellishments following the simple steps in this YouTube Video tutorial.

I’ve used these embellishments throughout the album to dress up tags and decorate pages. They are super simple to make, and can be adapted for use with any paper collection.

I hope I’ve shared some tips, tricks and ideas that you can use in your own holiday crafting. If so, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below. Thanks so much for hanging with me for this long post!

Hello, Friends! How are you coming along with your Valentines? If you need a fresh, fun idea for your Valentine party, I have a thought. This Authentique Sweetheart Valentine Mini Album Tutorial will guide you step by step through the process of making an adorable album where you can store all your favorite Valentine photos.

Then, die cut Tammy Tutterow Prim Hearts from scraps of paper in the collection. I also used a burlap heart my sweet daughter in law gave me for Christmas. But you could easily substitute another die cut heart here.

Now the real fun begins. Fussy cut the Cupid image and cover him in embossing ink. Heat emboss with Shabby Ivory Embossing Powder. Pop up on foam dots or waste chipboard.

Sweetheart Valentine Mini Album Tutorial on YouTube

So, are you ready to get your craft on? Then grab a cuppa, notebook and pencil and join me for this Sweetheart Valentine Mini Album Tutorial. First we’ll take a tour of the entire album, so you can see how all the interactive elements work. Next, I’ll guide you step by step so you can build your very own album base. You’ll learn how to create the fun tab spine and pocket pages, too! FInally, you’ll get to see all the elements in a photo gallery that will give all kinds of ideas for decorating and finishing your album.

If you enjoy this video, you might like to subscribe to my YouTube Channel. I have dozens crafting videos there. I’d love to have you join me!

Tammy Tutterow Creative Crew: Frosty Winter Mini Tag Album Tutorial

Hello, Friends! We’re getting our Christmas crafts on this month! Today, I have the cutest Frosty Winter Mini Tag Album Tutorial to share with you today! Little things make my heart happy, and this itty bitty 4″ x 2 x 1.5″ wintry album is filled with all kinds of teeny tiny cuteness!

See what I mean? Who doesn’t love a snow globe style shaker element on the cover of a teeny tiny mini album?

The base of this adorable album is created with Tammy Tutterow’s Mini Tag Album Die. I’ve made several albums with this sweet die, but this time, I modified the design to create a chunky spine and tabbed pocket pages. You’ll see how I do this in my Frosty Winter Mini Tag Album Tutorial video.

Frosty Winter Mini Tag Album Tutorial: Shake it Up, Baby!

I forgot to tell you how to make the shaker cover in my tutorial video, so I will do that here.

The focal image on the cover is a sticker from Authentique’s Frosty Winter 12×12 Paper Collection. (Product Links below.) Here’s how I created this fun shaker top element:

First, add the sticker to a circular die cut or chipboard piece that is about 1/2″ larger in diameter than the sticker. I painted my die cut white first to make sure that if it showed, it would look nice.

Now, use the corresponding Spellbinder Small Standard Circle die to cut out a clear acetate circle. This will be the cover for your shaker element.

Next, add 1/8″ Scor-tape to the back side of this die cut circle.

Then, add Kool-Tac clear foam tape around the outer edge of the circle with the sticker.

Now, carefully add some Stampendous Shaved Ice Frantage elements to the center of the snow globe base. Be careful not to get any flakes on the Kool-Tac, or it will not stick well.

Next, remove the liner tape from the Scor-Tape and the Kool-Tac tape and press the acetate cover over the sticker base.

Now, hot glue the snow globe base to the album cover.

Then use hot glue to add the white leaf wreath around the outer edge.

Finally, decorate with die cut felt flowers.

Frosty Winter Mini Tag Album Tutorial: Add a Chunky Spine

You all know how much I love tags and pockets and dimensional details. I wanted to add those to this adorable album, but to do that, I had to modify the design a little. You will learn how to turn the mini tag album base into this chunky little album in the tutorial.

I also transformed the mini tag album pages into little pockets.

Frosty Winter Mini Tag Album Tutorial: A Peek at the pages

This album is loaded with interactive elements. It would be a super cute stocking stuffer, and a great way to present a monetary gift as there are lots and lots of little tuck spots, pockets and hiding places inside.

Each itty bitty tag is topped with one of Tammy’s Shortie Tabs.

Sticker stamps make great tuck spots if you back them with cardstock. You can also add stickers to folded cardstock to create these mini file folders.

Page turn elements are made with a die from Tabs 2. And Tammy’s Prim heart makes the cutest little embellishment when cut from felt.

Here’s that Prim Heart again. This time it’s decorating a Tabbed Mini Pocket.

This is the perfect hiding spot for a little cash, tickets or even small jewelry.

Are you ready to get your craft on? Then let’s watch this Frosty Winter Mini Tag Album Tutorial Video.

Faded Photos Passport Album for Frilly and Funkie Timeworn Challenge

Hello, Friends! There’s something about old family photos! I don’t care how old and faded they are, they speak to my heart, take me back in time, and capture my imagination. I’ve created this Faded Photos Passport Album for the Timeworn Challenge over at Frilly and Funkie. Our hostess this go round is the amazing Autumn. Before we take a look at the album, let’s see what she has to say about this fabulous challenge.

Timeworn

As the last leaves fall from autumn trees, we are reminded of the beauty of yesterday. The leaves crinkled underfoot, the clock ticking onward, a fleeting memory… For this challenge, we would love to see your timeworn vintage or shabby chic creations celebrating the beauty of the aged, dated or weathered.

Faded Photos Passport Album

I’ve always had a deep love for old family photos. When I was sick in bed as a little girl (which was often) Mom would let us thumb through her old scrapbooks to help us pass the time. Just a few days ago, I received a surprise package in the mail from my sister in law. She was cleaning out old boxes and ran across a small pile of old photos of my mom, dad, aunt, uncle and grandmother. What a treasure. I knew immediately that I wanted to clean these photos up and use them for this project.

The album base is cut from medium weight chipboard using Eileen Hull’s Passport Album Die. I love the petite size of this 3.5″ x 5″ album. It’s just so cute!

The album is covered with 12″ x 12″ Tim Holtz Memoranda papers. Distress Oxide Inks on a manila tag formed the base for my title image. The embellishments are wrapped around my favorite Ornate frame to form a sort of wreath effect.

What’s Inside the Faded Photos Passport Album

When you create an album with old family photos, half the pleasure is derived from remembering faces and events. Because all of these photos were taken long before I was born, I found it especially moving to see all the hopes and dreams, love and promise captured in the expressions.

Of course, this album has pockets! You’ll find a slash pocket on both the front and the back cover. This is my mom and dad, framed with a Cabinet Card. I die cut an extra page from kraft paper, folded it in half and wrote their love story on it. Then I clipped it to the back of the cabinet card.

This photo of my mom is taken in 1941 on York Beach, Maine. She always did love to climb on rocks.

To form inner pockets, I simply glued two pages together. Then I inked up some kraft tags with Distress Oxide Inks, added my journaling and some stamping. Banner flags cut from crinoline make such lovely little embellishments.

Time and dampness combined with much handling really damaged these photos. Photo editing software cleaned them up a good bit, but they are still a little rough. I also scanned in my mother’s own handwritten journal entries, then printed them off.

I love how carefree she looks in these photos!

Faded Photos Passport Mini Album: The Summer of 1942

The US entered WWII in 1942, and that summer saw thousands of young men (and women!) enlist in the military. This photo is of my dad and his little brother. Dad joined the army, but thankfully, served in the US due to the fact that he was profoundly color blind. His little brother joined the Navy, and served in the Philippines.

Like thousands of others, good-byes had to be said. So the family took a trip to Massachusetts to do just that. My mom is on the left, my Grammy Ma in the center and Aunt Ellen is on the right in this photo.

Here’s Mom with my Aunt Bid, who served as a nurse during the war. She was such a great aunt, and as this picture shows…always ready to have fun.

This is my dad, the day before he left for the Army. Those hills in the background are from his tiny, rural hometown.

I see the faces of my family, and I remember. Their faces live on in the faces of their children, our children and grandchildren, too. This was so much more than a design team project for me. Creating this Faded Photos Passport album brought dear ones who are no longer with me back to life. I hope you’ve enjoyed this little piece of my family history. It was my pleasure to create and share it with you.

Timeworn Challenge: Now it’s YOUR turn!

We’d love to see your take on this Timeworn theme. Simply create your own vintage or shabby chic project celebrating the beauty of the aged, dated or weathered. Link it up over at the Frilly and Funkie Blog before 11:59PM on Tuesday, November 21st.

The Frilly Funkie team will will choose their top four picks with the winner being invited to join us in a Guest DT spot at Frilly and Funkie. Our next three favorites will receive badges to display on their blogs. Everyone who enters and follows the rules will be entered into the draw to have the chance to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

Hello, Friends! One of the things I love the most about fall is that I get to pull out all my fabulous pumpkin recipes…if I can find them! To remedy that situation, I’ve created this Pumpkin Season Recipe Journal with Eileen Hull’s HeARTfelt Journal Die by Sizzix. It’s just perfect for the latest challenge over on the Frilly and Funkie Blog, where I get to serve as the hostess this month.

Challenge Theme: To Everything There is a SeasonFall is one of the most beautiful seasons of the year. Brilliant leaves, fall flowers, crisp blue skies, and migrating geese fill the season with a sense of wonder and anticipation You’re invited to create a vintage or shabby chic project that captures the beauty of fall. You can make a card, a tag, share a journal entry or any kind of project you desire. Just be sure to create it in the shabby chic or vintage style and be sure to use fall (not Halloween) images and colors.

Pumpkin Season Recipe Journal with Prima Amber Moon Collection

Before putting the journal together, I first inked all the edges with a combination of Rusty Hinge and Vintage Photo Distress Inks. Then I cut out my covers from the A4 Amber Moon papers. All the edges were inked and distressed. I also stitched around the front cover to add a little more texture.

When all the cover pieces were glued in place, I put the journal together using the directions that come with the die,

Next, I added a contrasting strip of paper to the spine. This was heavily inked, crumpled and distressed before gluing in place. Then I added the ribbon for the closure, and punched a hole for my metal charms.

I found these mustard seeds in my spice cabinet, and thought they’d look great mixed in with all these pretty Prima blooms.

To add extra texture, stitch your sentiment panel onto burlap.

Pumpkin Season Recipe Journal: A Peek Inside

Decorating the inside of this pumpkin recipe journal was really fun. I created 3 signatures, or inserts, for the journal. To change things up a bit, I got a little inventive with the creases and folds. You’ll see the results in the video below.

Lots of tags and pockets, of course! You know I love my tags and pockets.

Tuck spots and ephemera, too! Flipping through this journal is a real adventure. You never know what you’ll find when you turn the page.

Here’s a sweet slash pocket filled with another signature. I had not planned on doing this, but when my album got too chubby, I had to improvise. (Pumpkin recipes have a habit of expanding the waistline, after all.)

I turned one of Tammy Tutterow’s mini pocket envelopes into a shaker element. Isn’t it too, too cute?

Would you like to see more? Then I hope you’ll enjoy this 10 minute video tour!

Pumpkin Season Recipe Journal Video Tour

I hope you’ll play along with us in this “To Everything There is a Season” Challenge. Simply create your very own fall themed (not Halloween) project in a vintage or shabby chic style and link it up on the Frilly and Funkie Blog before midnight, Tuesday September 26th.

The design team will chose their top four favorite projects from all the entries. Our top pick will be asked to join us as a Guest Designer on the Frilly and Funkie Blog. The next 3 entries will receive a challenge badge to display proudly on their blog. And everyone who plays along and follows the challenge guideline will be eligible to win a $25 shopping spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

You can find all the details for the challenge and inspiration from the rest of the team HERE.

I can’t wait to see what you make!

I hope I’ve shared some tips and tricks that you can use in your own fall crafty adventures. If so, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below.

Hello, Friends! Fall is a great season to practice the habit of gratitude. Today I have a really sweet Grateful Paper Bag Envelope Mini Album made with Tammy Tutterow Dies that will help you get your gratitude on!

This “from scratch” album measures 5.75″ x 3.5″ with a 3″ spine. I want to live in this pink gingham house, don’t you? So sweet! The chipboard house is wreathed with handmade felt posies. These are such fun to make! I especially enjoy digging through my button jar to find the centers.

Grateful Paper Bag Envelope Mini Album: A Gratitude Waterfall

Waterfall features like the one on the inside cover of my book are a snap to make using Tammy’s Waterfall One Die. Each page is cut from designer paper.

The cover is decorated with Tammy’s Pointed Mini Envelope Die. Just die cut the envelope from designer paper, then fold the flaps, glue in place and you have a darling designer envelope. This one is paper clipped to the front cover of the waterfall album and flanked with another Posie Part felt flower.

You can add 3″ square photos on each album page.

Add pictures of the people, places and things you are the most thankful for on these pages.

Grateful Paper Bag Envelope Mini Album Pocket Pages

Before I began putting this album together, I first die cut 4 sets of Paper Bag Envelopes from medium weight cream cardstock.

Assembling the paper bag envelopes is as easy as 1, 2, 3. Just fold, and glue together with the adhesive of your choice.

Once the paper bag envelopes were put together, I used Tammy’s Stencil Girl Stencils and Distress Ink to add color, pattern and interest to the plain cream envelopes. This first pocket page pairs the Cross Stitch 2 Step Stencil with Tattered Rose and Worn Lipstick Distress Inks. I do not consider myself to be adept with stencils, but this was really quick and easy to do.

Next, I die cut some tabs from designer paper to serve as pull-outs for the envelope inserts. You can write down thankful thoughts, add photos, tuck little mementoes into the pockets…anything you feel thankful for!

Grateful for Tammy’s Stencils!

Each side of the pocket is stenciled with a different pattern and decorated with a Posie Part Posie. This is the Gingham Stencil.

I love the fact that I can create “custom” patterns to match my designer papers and the theme of any project. Here, I’ve used Fossilized Amber and Wild Honey with the Polka Heart Stencil.

This page made with the Petite Posies stencil and Wild Honey/Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink is probably my favorite. The colors match the little chipboard house perfecty!

Grateful Paper Bag Mini Album: The Photo Mounts

The inside back cover has a pocket full of photo mounts. I used the Paper Bag Pocket insert die to make these in a jiffy.

Bound together with a decorative belly band, you can add eight 3.75″ x 2.75″ photos here.

This Grateful Paper Bag Envelope Mini Album is such a fun way to remember to be thankful. You could make this into a weekly activity with your kids or grandkids, adding photos, quotes and journaling notes to each little pocket. I always say that thankful people are the happiest people.

Take a Road Trip with Authetique Pastime Passport Style Mini Album

Hello, Friends! Aaaah, Summertime! The perfect time to hit the road, go adventuring, and make lasting memories! Who wants to take a road trip with me today as we explore a brand new collection from Authentique Paper? This Pastime Passport Style Mini Album is the perfect travel companion, loaded with fun interactive features, retro style images and ready for adventure. Take a peek:

This is the cutest, chunkiest little mini album! Authentique’s Pastime Collection is filled to the brim with retro images like Polaroid cameras, cute little campers, vintage billboards, tickets receipts and more. The Pastime 6×6 Paper Bundle is just the right size for this petite 3.5″ x 5″ x 2″ mini album. I also used fussy cut images, patterns, Detail Stickers and Petite Diction Stickers from the 12″ x 12″ Collection Kit.

Eileen Hull’s Passport Book Die by Sizzix is a perfect playmate for this paper collection. After die cutting covers, spine and inner pages, I went to work on decorating the album. The album contains 3 separate signatures (inserts) bound with elastic. Each signature holds 12 pages that you cut out with the die.

Here’s a peek a the album spine. You can see the elastic binding strips threaded through the holes. I added some vintage travel charms and beads just for fun. Don’t you love this paper?

Authentique Pastime Passport Style Mini Album Video Tour on YouTube

This album is bursting with interactive elements like pockets, tags, flip pages, waterfall features, fold out pages and more. I find the easiest way to share a project like this is with a YouTube video tour. I share a lot in this video about the process for making the album as well as tips and tricks that you can use in your own crafty adventures.

Authentique Pastime Passport Style Mini Album: A few detail shots

Pockets add so much to a mini album design. This side pocket is decorated with one of the fun Details Stickers from the 12×12 Collection Kit. I matted it on kraft cardstock to make it pop against that cute patterned paper in the background. Photo mounts held together with a decorative belly band fill the side pocket. You can place 8 photos here. Isn’t that amazing?The cover page of the first signature is simply decorated with another gorgeous Detail Sticker.

I kept the embellishments in this album very simple. Because it is small, I didn’t want the pages to be too busy. Petite Diction stickers give you the opportunity to create your own captions, which is lots of fun. Mat stickers on kraft cardstock, then glue just the bottom edge so that you can tuck your photo behind as I did on this flip page.

Turn fussy cut images into mini journaling spots or photo albums. To do this, I simply fold paper in half and then add my image. This journal spot also serves as a turn tab for the fold out page.

Make Your Own Embellishments!

Throughout the album, I’ve used stickers to make my own embellishments. This tiny Polaroid sticker looks so cute hanging from the paperclip that holds this journal page in place. I simply matted the sticker on folded cardstock, trimmed out the tails, then looped it over the paper clip. It looks chic and trendy even though it’s cheap and easy! LOL

Use Your Stash!

Do you keep ephemera items like small paper bags and such? An album like this is the perfect place to use these items from your stash! I found a tiny paper bag that was the perfect size for this album, covered it with paper, then added a tag. Again, a quick and affordable embellishment that looks great on the page.

We all have scraps, right? And they end up in a bin and never get used, which is such a waste. When you have gorgeous papers like these, you want to utilize every scrap. Therefore, I have been training myself to look for creative ways to use them in my projects. This decorative belly band is made with a piece of paper I’d trimmed off. Backed with kraft cardstock (also a scrap) it creates a stylish way to tuck in a tag. And let’s talk about the tag for a moment: its also decorated with a scrap of paper.

Punch a decorative edge on a scrap and use it as a border as I did here. It takes just a few seconds to do, but adds a designer look to a page. I also used a fussy cut scrap as a layering piece behind this cute hang tag made with a sticker from the collection. Scraps are our friends, people! Invite them to the party!

Make the Most of Your Page With Waterfall Features

I confess a love for waterfall features. They are interactive and fun. Not only that, you can store a ton of photos on a waterfall page. This tiny 3.25″ x 4.25″ page can hold SIX 3.4 photos! Here’s how to make your own waterfall element on a page:

First, measure the page to determine the width and length of each waterfall element. You want the width of each waterfall page to be slightly smaller than the width of the album page.

Next, cut rectangles of paper. Remember to add 1/2″ more to the length of each rectangle so you can score a flap. Each of these rectangles measures 3″ x 4″.

Then, score a 1/2″ flap on the short side of each rectangle. This is the mechanism that will attach to the base page. Fold the flap to the back side of each rectangle.

Now, ink the edges and shape with corner punches if desired.

Place adhesive of your choice on the back side of each flap. Beginning with the first flap, line the scored edge up with the top of your base page. Make sure it is straight. Press to adhere.

Next, lift the flap of the first waterfall. Align the scored edge of the next flap up with the bottom edge of the first flap and adhere, being sure to keep everything straight.

Continue until you’ve added all the flaps.

Authentique Pastime Passport Style Mini Album: The Grand Finale

The final page of this album is so much fun. I created a micro journaling spot with one of the tiny stickers from the Details sheet. Then I created a tuck spot with a fussy cut image from the 6×6 bundle. The inside cover has a pocket with a handy little notepad that I created from designer paper and chipboard.

I love this quote: “Life is a grand adventure: go live it!” What a perfect way to end this post!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope I’ve shared some tips and tricks that you can use in your own crafty adventures. If so, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below.